Date: 7/23/26 9:49 am From: Shep Thorp via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for Wednesday July 23rd
Hi Tweets,
Approximately 25 of us enjoyed a warm summer's day at the Refuge with
temperatures in the 60's to 80's degrees Fahrenheit. There was a High 10'
Tide at 2:41pm, so we walked our regular route. Highlights included GREEN
HERON at the Visitor Center Pond Overlook, 2-3 BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS
around the Orchard, numerous occupied nests including CLIFF SWALLOW, BARN
SWALLOW, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE and BALD EAGLE, and great looks at WILSON
SNIPE, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, and LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER.
For the day, we observed 70 species, and we have seen 154 species so far
this year. See our eBird Report pasted below.
Other fun sightings included Giant Water Bug and Eight-spotted Skimmer; we
also heard California Sea Lions.
I'll be away in West Papua for the next three weeks and will return August
19th. Ken, Jim, Pete, Lisa, Ed, Bill and Carol will help lead the walk in
my absence. I'll miss their fun sightings while I'm away.
Until next week when we meet again, happy birding.
Shep
--
Shep Thorp
Browns Point
253-370-3742
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Jul 22, 2026 7:57 AM - 4:16 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.02 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Wednesday walk. Sunny skies with warm temperatures
from 60’s to 80’s degrees Fahrenheit. A High 10’ Tide at 2:41pm. Others
seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Townsend’s Chipmunk, Columbian
Black-tailed Deer, Muskrat, Harbor Seal and California Sea Lion. Others
seen American Bullfrog, Western Swallow-tailed Butterfly, Green Darner,
Eight-spotted Skimmer, Red-Veined Meadowhawk, and Giant Water Bug.
70 species (+3 other taxa)
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 60
Wood Duck 13
Cinnamon Teal 1
Gadwall 1
Mallard 16
Hooded Merganser 1
Common Merganser (North American) 20
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 30
Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern) 5
Mourning Dove 2
Anna's Hummingbird 3
Rufous Hummingbird 1
Virginia Rail 2
Killdeer 6
Semipalmated Plover 1
Long-billed Dowitcher 1
Wilson's Snipe 2
Greater Yellowlegs 16
Least Sandpiper 20
peep sp. 150
Short-billed Gull 6
Ring-billed Gull 130
California Gull 40
Glaucous-winged Gull 1
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 1
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 60
Caspian Tern 40
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Brandt's Cormorant 2
Double-crested Cormorant 35
Green Heron 1 Visitor Center Pond Overlook.
Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 60
Osprey (American) 1
Bald Eagle 14
Belted Kingfisher 6
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 3
Hairy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 2
American Kestrel 1
Western Wood-Pewee 7
Willow Flycatcher 2
Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 2
Steller's Jay (Coastal) 1
American Crow 6
Common Raven 2
Black-capped Chickadee 20
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2
Tree Swallow 25
Violet-green Swallow 3
Purple Martin 12 Luhr Beach
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Northern) 4
Barn Swallow (American) 49
Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 15
Brown Creeper 3
Marsh Wren 4
Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 2
European Starling 100
Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 19
American Robin (migratorius Group) 15
Cedar Waxwing 12
Purple Finch (Western) 2
Red Crossbill (Douglas-fir or type 4) 14
American Goldfinch 40
Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 2
Song Sparrow 17
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 6
Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 70
Brown-headed Cowbird 10
Common Yellowthroat 15
Northern Yellow Warbler 25
Black-throated Gray Warbler 2 Orchard.
Wilson's Warbler 2
Black-headed Grosbeak 3 Orchard.
